Barack Obama jokes ‘she took me back’ as Michelle warns him not to laugh off divorce rumor: 'Don't start'
WASHINGTON DC: The Obamas are speaking out directly about ongoing rumors concerning their marriage.
Barack Obama addressed the speculation during a new episode of Michelle Obama’s 'IMO podcast', which she cohosts with her brother, Craig Robinson.
Michelle Obama says ‘folks think we’re divorced’ after solo appearances spark speculation
Barack Obama appeared as a guest on the July 13 episode, warmly greeting Michelle Obama on set, prompting her brother to tease, “Wait, you guys like each other?”
Obama quickly leaned into the lighthearted moment, joking, “She took me back,” before adding, “It was touch and go for a while.”
But Michelle didn’t let the joke slide without a warning, saying, “Now don’t start.”
Speculation about their marriage has grown in recent months, partly due to Michelle’s absence at certain public events, including Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Craig Robinson brought up the topic during the podcast, saying, “It’s so nice to have you both in the same room together.”
Michelle responded, “I know because when we aren’t, folks think we’re divorced.”
Robinson also recalled being asked by a woman at an airport, “‘What did he do?’” Barack reacted with surprise, saying, “These are the kinds of things that I just miss. So I don’t even know this stuff’s going on and then somebody will mention it to me and I’m like what are you talking about?”
Michelle says ‘there hasn’t been one moment’ where she thought about leaving Barack Obama
Michelle clarified her feelings further, saying, “There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I’ve thought about quitting on my man. And we’ve had some really hard times and we’ve had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures and I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
She had previously addressed the criticism she received for not attending Trump’s inauguration, saying on an earlier podcast episode, “My decision to skip the inauguration, what people don’t realize — or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism."
She added, "People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”
Michelle Obama declares she’d ‘be problem-solving in public’ if she were headed for a breakup
In another interview earlier this year on the 'Diary of a CEO' podcast, Michelle Obama said she wouldn’t be discreet if there were real trouble at home.
“If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it,” she said. “And let me tell you, he would know it and everybody would know it.”
She also pointed out that she is not one to suffer quietly. “I would be problem-solving in public,” she said. “And be like, ‘Let me tell you what he did.’”
Michelle 61, and Barack, 63, have been married since 1992 and share two daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24.
